The Art of Love
Inspired by Neil Diamond's song of the same name. "Love's not what you have but what you give;
and the art of love is who you share it with." A collection short fics about the relationships in the "You Complete Me" universe.
Chapter 1: Tali and Chaim – November 2034
Tali sat at her usual corner table at the café near campus. She was pretending to work on her linguistics paper as she watched the study group across from her table. Three men and two women were studying together; from the conversation she'd overheard they were preparing for a massive exam in their forensic immunology course. To be honest, she was focusing her observations on the leader of the group. He wore a kippah, which had been what had first caught her attention. He had a natural leadership, steering the group back to task when the others drifted.
Twice she had walked past the table on the pretense of throwing trash into the receptacle; her excuse to get a better look at the man. He had dark hair and the most intriguing blue eyes she had ever seen. Not a steely blue like her Grandpa, but a blue that made her think of the Mediterranean beaches at Haifa. He had noticed her on her second pass by the table. She could feel him watching her as she walked back to her table.
As the study group started to break up for the night, Tali decided to make her move. She walked past the table one more time, placing a folded piece of paper in front of the dark-haired man with the kippah. She had written a note in Hebrew, including her name and cell number. She paused near the trash receptacle, feeling his eyes on her.
She turned, and met the gaze from the blue eyes. He grinned at her, holding up the note, now unfolded. She smiled back, intrigued now that he had her attention. Tali started back to her table. As she passed, he held out a hand to her.
"Shalom, Tali DiNozzo; I am Chaim Rubin."
Tali took his hand in hers, "Hello, Chaim Rubin. Are you Israeli?"
"Yes and no. My parents moved to Israel when I was two weeks old. I was born in Atlanta; and you? Surely with a last name of DiNozzo you must be at least part Italian?"
"My Abba is third generation Italian-American on his father's side; my Ima is Israeli by birth. I was born in Tel Aviv." Tali found herself easily sharing with him.
"Have you eaten dinner yet?" Chaim found himself fascinated by the woman before him.
"No, what do you have in mind?" Tali wanted to learn more about the man. He fascinated her with his blue eyes that spoke of an old soul. She felt drawn to him.
"Well, there's a diner off I-95 near Franconia that's open all but six days a year, or there is a diner in Alexandria off the Beltway near…" Chaim was cut off by Tali's laugh. "What's so funny?"
"I know BOTH of those diners well; my aunt and uncle go to the one near Franconia all the time and my Grandpa has been going to the one in Alexandria forever!" Tali explained. "Either one is fine with me.
"I live in the apartment complex about two blocks north. You?" she asked.
"Same complex; I walked here. Shall we drop our books and stuff off and head out from there?"
"I walked as well; sounds like a plan to me!" Tali gathered her books, computer, and notes as Chaim packed up his things. They walked side by side, chatting about classes and living in the apartment complex. They discovered that their apartments were across the courtyard from the other's. Once back at the complex, each put school items inside their respective apartments and agreed to meet in the courtyard. Tali quickly changed her shirt to a dressier blouse.
Chaim grinned when they met up in the courtyard, "I see you changed clothes too! Shall I drive?"
"Okay; you drive and I'll pick the Franconia diner," Tali replied. They walked to Chaim's car and he held the door for Tali. "Toda."
"Al lo davar," Chaim grinned to himself as he walked to the driver's side. He was enjoying conversing in Hebrew again. The only times he spoke Hebrew since he had come to the States to attend Georgetown had been when he talked to friends, and sometimes with his sisters, back in Israel.
On the way to the diner, Tali and Chaim shared about themselves with each other. Both felt at ease with the other, as if they were longtime friends rather than new acquaintances. Tali learned that Chaim had two younger sisters, five uncles on his Abba's side and two on his Ima's side as well as three aunts on his Abba's side. His grandfather had been killed in the nine-eleven attack at the World Trade Center.
Tali shared about her extended family; all of the aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and others who made up the family of the heart. "If we didn't have the family of the heart that my parents made, there would be just Ima, Abba, and the five of us kids. We may as well be blood relatives; we all sure act like it!"
At the diner, Clyde greeted both Tali and Chaim. He asked how Leon and Abby were, and Tali told him that they had flown to visit with Kayla's family for the holidays. Jared was coming stateside for Christmas just to see Tori. "Are they still working at NCIS?"
Chaim stopped in his tracks when Clyde asked Tali that question. "Yep, Uncle Leon is still director and Aunt Abby won't ever give up her lab."
"Did you say NCIS?" Chaim asked.
"Yeah, a lot of my family works there; my Abba used to and my Ima and Grandpa retired from there. Uncle Tim, Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Ellie, Uncle Clay, Uncle Nick, Kasie, and Aunt Jack all still work there. I'm hoping to get accepted for FLETC when I finish my degree. I want to work on the International Desk. Why?"
Chaim grinned, "Your aunt wouldn't happen to be Abigail Sciuto? I've read every paper and journal article that she's published. I want to work in Forensics at NCIS because of her work!"
"The one and only," Tali responded with a huge grin. "You've probably read the books by Dr. Donald Mallard as well. He was my Grandducky!"
"No way!" Chaim had all four of Dr. Mallard's books; some of his most treasured possessions. He had asked for the books as his birthday and Chanukah presents for the year he turned twenty two. His parents, sisters, and other family members had pooled their money to buy an autographed set for the budding forensic scientist. "He's a legend!"
"To us, he was just Grandducky. I was seven when he passed, but I remember him telling us stories all the time," Tali reminisced. "Small world, isn't it?"
"That it is! So, how long did you live in Israel?" Chaim changed the subject.
"For most of my first two years; Ima and I lived in a farmhouse near Tel Aviv that was originally my grandfather's. Ima sent me to my Abba here in DC right before the house was blown up in a mortar attack. My grandfather, Eli David, apparently had many enemies," Tali shared.
"Eli David the former director of Mossad?" Chaim was incredulous. His Abba had worked for Director David and Chaim remembered having a family dinner with the Mossad director as a guest. He also vaguely remembered the news reports of the attack and fire at the farmhouse. He had been almost six at the time and what he remembered the most was that his Abba had been glued to the TV news coverage.
"Yes, Ima doesn't talk about him much, but he was her father. I think he and Ima were estranged when he died," Tali added. "I only know bits and pieces of the story. Ima had an older half-brother and a younger sister; they both died young. I am named for my aunt."
"WOW! It most certainly is a small world," Chaim commented as Clyde brought out the food. He and Tali ate the meal while sharing more about themselves and their immediate families. After the meal, they rode back to DC holding hands. Chaim walked Tali to her door.
"Tali, I don't normally kiss on the first date, but I want…" Tali leaned in and locked her lips on Chaim's. She felt so at ease with him and as though she had known him for much longer than the five hours since she had put the note on his table at the café.
They broke the kiss for air. "May I see you tomorrow?" Chaim asked.
"Of course! And the day after, and the day after that, and…" Chaim cut Tali off by putting his lips on hers again. And for the rest of our lives, they both thought to themselves.
"Laila tov, Tali DiNozzo!"
"Laila tov, Chaim Rubin!"
Tali closed her apartment door and leaned back against it. She wondered if this was how her parents had felt when they first kissed.